Tor Project: Anonymity ain't free, folks. Pony up

The programmers behind internet privacy tool Tor are asking supporters to donate money to bankroll future development. The software project has kicked off a fundraising effort to enhance the online anonymizing network, which is used by whistleblowers, journalists, criminals, normal folk, privacy-conscious netizens, and many …

[gollux]

Anonymity wants to be free...

[MrDamage]

old fashioned check

So they're accepting moudly bits of lumberjack shirts?

Cheque. It's not that hard to spell, anf causes absolutely no confusion as to the meaning of the word.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: old fashioned check

I think you mean mouldy. I don't think moudly is a word, but I haven't chequed it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: old fashioned check

Anf and, or maybe the other way round.

[MrDamage]

Re: old fashioned check

Muphry's Law strikes again.

I suppose that's what happen when you have 8 browser tabs open on a mobile and you're typing faster than the phone is capable of rendering the input on screen.

[BenR]

Re: old fashioned check

I really really REALLY hope "Muphry's Law" was a deliberate mistake...

[MrDamage]

Muphry's Law

It's similar to Murphy's Law, but it applies to grammar/spelling nazis.

Basically, it dictates that those who seek to correct someone else's spelling or grammar, will make a mistake themselves.

[TopCat62]

Re: old fashioned check

No, Muphry's Law is a thing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry's_law

[Your alien overlord - fear me]

Re: old fashioned check

Americans eh !!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Nice idea, but

I would think the donor list to be of more interest to some than those of the members of Ashley Madison or the EDL. The latter, mere titillation, the former, ??? who knows.

[Your alien overlord - fear me]

Surely all those paedoes, terrorists and drug dealers should be ponying up.

[Anonymous Coward]

interesting list

of the donors you have there. Care if we take a look?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmmm...

I'm not averse to donating a little cash to keep Tor running, as on balance I think it does more good than it does harm, however, I don't fancy belatedly finding myself in an orange jumpsuit for this, much as I love Cuba.

Any ideas? And no, thanks, but I'll not be suckered into a 419 variant by sending the money on to a third party.

[Old Handle]

Re: Hmmm...

Buy either a pre-paid debit card or a money order with cash and use that.

[User McUser]

And it's Tax Deductible too

From https://www.torproject.org/donate/donor-faq.html.en:

If you pay taxes in the United States, your donation to Tor is tax deductible to the full extent required by law. The tax ID number for the Tor Project is 20-8096820.

[BenR]

"Though the Tor Project has found itself at odds with the US government for criminal activity taking place on the network"

Isn't this almost exactly the same as saying the (open) internet itself should be in trouble because of illegal activity on it?

[BenR]

... or that roads are illegal because they're used in the commission of a crime? (Such as speeding at one extreme, to getaway driving at the other?)

... or that pharmaceuticals are illegal because of heroin and cocaine?

... or (especially for the Americans) saying that guns are illegal because they are used in hundreds of thousands of violent crimes every year?

[Anonymous Coward]

The gullible

..will get fleeced.

[Anonymous Coward]

I pay taxes

I pay taxes, and US.gov pays TOR. I was a bit surprised to learn that's still happening. It's like Mozilla w/rt Google then Yahoo: if you're gonna take from them, don't expect anything from your users (as they're shuffling toward the coatroom...)

I want to like TOR, but having given it another look in the last few weeks I'm not impressed. It's not slow, it's excruciatingly slow. And considering their primary funding sources, I can't trust their intentions. Sorry.